A Study On The "Poetry-as-history" In The Late Ming And Early Qing Dynasties

"Poetry-as-History" is a classic category of ancient Chinese poetry.As an important concept of poetics,it originated in the late Tang Dynasty,took shape in the Song Dynasty and matured in the Ming Dynasty.Looking at the history of ancient Chinese literature,the process of the development of the "Poetry-as-History" is actually the process of the debate on the issue of " history of poetry" and the formation of the theory of "Poetry-as-History" by various schools.The late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty are the key periods for the development of the theory of " poetic history".The reason why it is said to be key lies,on the one hand,in the fact that the discussion and research on the issue of " poetic history" in this period closely followed the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.There is an intersection between the two.The theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties can be regarded as the deepening and promotion of the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the middle and late Ming dynasty.At the same time,many poetics experienced the middle and late Ming Dynasty,and their "Poetry-as-History" theory matured and improved in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.Therefore,the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the middle and late Ming dynasty can be regarded as a prelude to the development of the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.therefore,it is necessary to outline the development of this part of "Poetry-as-History" theory.This shows that the theory of " poetic history" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties has something in common with history.On the other hand,the era environment of " broken mountains and rivers" has injected " change" into the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in this period.One change makes the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties present complicated and interlaced aspects.This article is mainly divided into three parts from the structure:The first part mainly sorts out the origin of the concept of "Poetry-as-History" and the general situation of its development and change.The poetic concept of the theory of "Poetry-as-History" started in late Tang dynasty and came into being in song dynasty.with the promotion of the status of scholars,the development of neo-Confucianism and the appearance of Du Fu's highly respected situation,"Poetry-as-History" was formed as an independent poetic category.Generally speaking,the "Poetry-as-History" in the Song Dynasty and even in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties focused on narrative and reasoning in content and on the function of " factual record" in writing methods.At the same time,this part tries to point out the new changes and trends of the connotation of "Poetry-as-History" in the middle and late Ming dynasty.During this period,there was a trend of " letting a hundred flowers blossom" in the poetry circle of Ming Dynasty.During this period,although many poets,such as Li Mengyang and others,continued to carry on and abide by the criterion of " the history of poetry",many poets began to question the legitimacy of the name " the history of poetry".The change of poetics' attitude towards "Poetry-as-History" reflects from one aspect their change of attitude towards Du Fu and his poems.Different from the Song Dynasty literati's comments on Du Fu's "Poetry-as-History",these poetics writers have a mixed attitude towards Du Fu and his poems.The connotation of "Poetry-as-History" is not only limited to " keeping current affairs in rhymes",but also includes the connotation of " elegance" and is embodied by the combination of " fu"," bi" and " xing".This change shows that the poetics writers in this period have deepened their understanding of the relationship between poetry and history and the laws of poetry itself.Under the advocacy of Yang Shen,Xu Xueyi and others,poetry has a tendency to get rid of the entanglement of external factors such as history and morality,and then move towards self-discipline.The second part mainly enumerates the attitudes and evaluations of poetics writers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties,such as Wang Fuzhi,Qian Qianyi,Wu Weiye,Qian Chengzhi,etc.towards the "Poetry-as-History",and expounds the characteristics of the "Poetry-as-History" theory in both emotional and theoretical thinking during this period.These poetics writers felt the depravity of scholars' morality and the lack of study style in the late Ming Dynasty.At the same time,they felt helpless about the reality and future of the literati group in this period and expressed their deep dissatisfaction with closing themselves up.Therefore,the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in this period advocated true feelings and at the same time had a tendency of emphasizing elegance and suppressing vulgarity.Not only that,the theory of " history of poetry" in this period canbe regarded as a deepening of the theoretical viewpoints of Yang Shen,Xu Xueyi and other mid-and late-stage critics of poetry,and the status of poetry in their hearts has obviously increased.The debate on "Poetry-as-History" can be regarded as a sign of awakening in this period.The changes in the theory of "Poetry-as-History" from the original " poetry cannot be combined with history"," poetry cannot be used as history" to the later " poetry is used as history"," poetry is used to supplement history"," poetry is used to prove history" to the final " mutual proof of poetic history" and " poetry is used as the history of spreading the heart outside the history" reflect not only the changes in the relationship between poetry and history: the relationship between poetry and history has gradually transited from strict opposition to the interaction between literary texts and historical texts,but also the innovations in the methodology of poetry writing and the epitome of the times.The era of " heaven falling apart" has caused widespread anxiety among scholars.On the one hand,the social reality that mountains and rivers are broken and mountains and rivers are changed makes the official history and grand narrative written by the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty suspect by the Han literati.Truly restoring the original appearance of history has become the ideal and expectation of the Han literati in this period.For a long time,the function of poetry is to serve history.Therefore,the historical factors will be consciously revealed and expressed in poetry."Taking poetry as history" has become the ideal pursuit of many poets.Poetry is of course a " meaningful form".Poetry critics have found a reasonable form for narrative history.However,great changes have taken place in the poetry circle and style in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.The poetry critics in this period did not look for truth from the outside history and grand narration,but began to turn their eyes inward,writing their own life course and rebuilding their shattered spiritual homeland through the special form of poetry.The events described in the poem are no longer the trigger media of emotion,and the events in the poem become more concrete and real,full of sensibility.In fact,this situation has laid an important foundation for the rationality of the existence of " poetic history" and the operability of argumentation.The third part mainly analyzes the theoretical value and poetic significance of the theory of "Poetry-as-History" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.this part is mainly launched from three aspects: the truth and fiction of poetry,the relationshipbetween emotion and aspiration of poetry,the acceptance and reinterpretation of poetry,and then summarizes the possibility and legitimacy of the existence of the name "Poetry-as-History".